


Unexpected kindness

by imera



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fear, Stendhal Syndrome, rare syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-27
Updated: 2012-04-27
Packaged: 2017-12-06 23:29:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/741442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imera/pseuds/imera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody knows Hermione is pregnant, and she doubts anyone would understand. In order to avoid a scandal she leaves Britain and hides in Spain. The last thing she expected to meet was a man she had not seen since the war ended, who fled as soon as he knew he would be sent to Azkaban.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [linlawless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/linlawless/gifts).



> Written in 2012 for the lm_hgficxchange (at LJ) for linlawless.
> 
> The original prompt that inspired me was:  
> Postwar. Lucius has fled Britain to avoid prosecution as a Death Eater. Meanwhile, Hermione is secretly pregnant (who the father is and why he’s not involved are up to the author). She leaves Britain to avoid scandal and winds up where Lucius is. They develop an unlikely friendship (or more if the author likes).
> 
> The Authors Notes I had for the story:  
> This turned out to be way larger than I first thought it would be, like twice the size, and would be even more if I hadn't changed my plan several times. There is little known about the syndrome I decided to add, but I'm sure it's not as bad as I wrote it.

When Hermione left her apartment it was still dark outside. She made her way down the four floors, holding onto the railing so she wouldn’t fall down the dark hall. The landlord still hadn’t changed the lights, and complaining didn’t seem to help. Luckily she had saved enough money to find another place soon, preferably on a first floor.

As soon as she was outside she started walking to work, hoping she wasn’t late again, especially since she couldn’t afford to lose her job.

She made it half way before having to stop. Feeling sick she rested against the wall, placing her hand over her belly, taking deep breaths to calm her stomach. It seemed to be working and ten seconds later she was slowly on her way again.

She knew she wasn’t far away when she walked past groups of teenagers leaving clubs; all laughing and talking loudly without a care in the world. A thought crossed her mind and she wondered how her life would be if she’d never received her letter from Hogwarts. She would most likely be a student on her way to become a dentist, doctor or even a lawyer. All she knew was that she wouldn’t be in the middle of Spain, living in a crappy apartment, working for an asshole, and be pregnant.

She placed her hand over her stomach again, feeling the bump beneath her coat. Nobody at home knew yet; not Harry, Ron, Ginny or even her parents. Hermione wished she had a good reason for hiding in a foreign country, but her reason was pathetic.

Hermione barely made it ten steps before having to stop again, breathing heavily to calm her threatening stomach. It was better to take a pause than having to throw up.

The real reason why she was hiding was far from glamorous. For months she had secretly had an affair with an older man, who was a well-known figure in the war, as well as after.

When she discovered she was pregnant she wanted to tell him, but knew it would be a mistake, especially since he multiple times told her how much he hated children. If anyone discovered her pregnancy, and then who the father really was, it would become a major scandal, especially since he was now the vice Minister of Magic.

For weeks she was home, crying over her fate, cursing the man that whispered sweet words in her ear, telling her just how perfect she was and how much he admired her. It wasn’t until the end of her second month that she knew what she had to do, that she had to start over somewhere where nobody knew her.

Hermione told everyone she planned to visit China where she would be an intern at a large company. Instead she was secretly living in Spain where she barely had money to buy food. She could use her savings if she was desperate, but she did not want to throw away her chance to live in a better apartment. 

She was now half way through her fifth month, and things did not look good for her. She explained to her boss that the pregnancy restrained her, hoping that he would be kinder, but it only seemed to make him worse. That was how she ended up having to wake up at five to start working at six.

Feeling slightly better she opened her eyes, trying to ignore the drunken strangers that could barely stand up on their own feet. She was about to move when the door to the bar opened and a man walked out with a girl under each arm.

Hermione stared at him in shock, unable to move or speak. She had not expected to meet anyone she knew in the city, and least of all him. It was still dark outside, but the light from a street lamp and the bar was enough to highlight the colour of the hair, his cheekbones, and that familiar smirk. How Lucius Malfoy ended up in the middle of Spain, in the city León, and in the bar right in front of her, was a mystery.

It wasn’t until Malfoy lifted his head that she finally reacted, but by then it was too late, he had already seen her. “Miss Granger?” he said in a surprised tone. Hermione heard one of the girls say something in Spanish about a whore, which was priceless coming from her, who had a miniskirt that barely cover her ass, and a top that barely covered her breasts.

How the girls were dressed was of course not Hermione’s business; they could walk around naked for all she cared. Hermione’s problem was of course the gentleman they were with, if she could call him that.

Knowing she had to escape him she quickly ran in the opposite direction. She heard him call for her to stop, but she couldn’t, not when she had worked really hard to stay hidden from the magic world. 

The running turned out to be a bad idea. Knowing it wouldn’t be long before she threw up she quickly ran into one of the alleys where she threw up several times behind a garbage can. Feeling slightly better she wiped her mouth and stood up. She quickly turned her attention back to the older man, this time less scared.

“Are you alright?” the older man asked in a tone that almost sounded like he was worried. Hermione knew better than to trust a coward who did not care about Muggle-borns.

Hermione stared at him, confused over his question and presence. She couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable as she looked at her with disgust. Desperate to find a way out she looked down the alley, only to realize it was a dead end; the only way to escape him was if she could run past him, and that would never happen in her condition.

“Just fine,” she answered. Automatically she touched her pocket, only to remember that she didn’t bring her wand with her to work, not after her boss almost broke it in two when he saw it last time. “If you don’t mind, could you please move out of the way?” she asked politely.

He didn’t say a word, instead he moved closer to her and handed her a handkerchief. Confused, and slightly scared, she stared at the offering. After five seconds where she did nothing he started waving the handkerchief in front of her. Hoping he would move once she accepted the handkerchief she took the offering. To her annoyance he did not move, which made her even more nervous.

Quickly she cleaned her mouth with the handkerchief before handing it back, only to have him refuse to take it. “It’s yours,” he said smirking, making her even more nervous. “I never expected to see a familiar face here.”

“Neither did I, sir,” she answered as politely as she managed.

Drunken people walked past the alley, never noticing the two people that never took their eyes of each other. Hermione wanted to call for help, but knew it could be a stupid thing to do, especially since the man probably had his wand and she didn’t.

“Where were you headed?” he asked, surprising her.

For a second she wanted to lie, but she didn’t see much wrong in him knowing where she was headed, especially if it sounded like she was expected to be somewhere soon. “Work.” She could see he didn’t seem convinced; luckily he accepted the answer anyway.

“Is it somewhere near?” he asked. Hermione thought it was strange he continued to ask, but hoping he would finally move out of the way she answered him.

“Four blocks down that road,” she said while pointing into the direction she walked in first.

Malfoy smiled as he grabbed his cane with both hands. Hermione knew a wand could be hidden in a cane, just like Hagrid’s umbrella, and was sure that the man was planning to do something. His smirk didn’t fade as he pulled the cane apart, revealing his hidden wand. She stared at him in fear, unsure of what he planned to do to her. Hermione began fearing for her health when suddenly one of the girls interrupted them.

She said something which caused the man to sigh; Hermione was far too scared by the situation to be bothered by her. All she could do was to look into Malfoy’s eyes, which were intensely staring at her. He pushed his wand back into his cane and said something in perfect Spanish that made the girl gasp and walk away. They were once again alone, but luckily he did not pull out his wand again; instead he smirked and left.

Hermione was both astonished and released, but she didn’t dare breathe until she was sure he was completely gone. Slowly she walked out of the alley, happy to see that he was not waiting around the corner.

Looking at her clock she realised that she was already late. Nervous of what her boss would say this time she quickly hurried, glad that she wasn’t feeling ill anymore.

Just like she thought, her boss was displeased with her. She tried to explain to him that she threw up, but that information only seemed to anger him even more.

When he finally left her she had to fight not to break down in the middle of her office. Somehow she managed to keep herself from hulking, but the tears were not cooperate and blurred her vision. Needing to focus on something she looked out the window since anything inside the office reminded her about her boss. As she stared outside she thought she saw someone with blond long hair. Coldness ran through her when she thought Malfoy was standing outside, watching her. Quickly she rubbed her eyes before looking at the same position as before, but this time there was no blond hair. Glad she was alone, except for her work colleague who felt sorry for her, she walked over to the restroom to freshen up.

Her boss made sure to check her every thirty minutes, because according to him she was not trustworthy. Working harder than was needed didn’t help either, he still checked on her to make sure she worked, criticized everything she did, and threaten her that she would lose her job if she. Why he didn’t like her was a mystery for her, she had never done anything to make her question her work ability.

The hours passed and the end of the day was finally there. Tired of her work and her boss Hermione quickly got dressed and left. She was only glad the next day was Sunday, so she could relax and do things she wanted.

Knowing she needed a few groceries she stopped at one of the small grocery shops she often visited. Grabbing a carton of milk, juice, some fruit and vegetable she paid for everything and left.

Confident that the rest of the day, as well as the next day, would be great she walked out of the store, only to wish she was back inside.

Lucius Malfoy was standing not far from the entrance, gripping his cane like he was prepared pull out his wand and hex her. “Miss,” he said with a smile. Hermione looked at the people that walked past them, glad they weren’t alone. “I assume you’re headed home.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, ignoring his question.

“I thought I’d see how you are.” Hermione wasn’t a fool and knew he planned to do something; the only problem was that she wasn’t sure what it was yet.

Taking one step away from him, glad to see he wasn’t following her, she decided to answer him. “I’m feeling great, so if you would excuse me,” she said while turning around and started walking away.

Hermione didn’t get very far as the older man grabbed her arm and forcefully turned her around. Shocked she dropped her groceries. She was about to scream for help but stopped herself; what would Muggles be able to do against an excellent duellist?

“Release me,” she ordered him. Sadly the only thing that happened was Malfoy’s smirk growing even wider. Starting to fear for her health, and for her unborn baby, she reached for his wand that was still hidden inside his cane.

He must have seen what she was trying to do because he quickly moved his cane out of her reach and pinned her against the wall. “What a naughty girl, trying to steal a wizard’s wand.”

“Like you’re so much better.” Since the wand was out of her reach she tried to remove his hand that was brutally holding her against the wall. “Release me,” she cried out.

“I don’t know why you think I want to hurt you.” He barely finished his sentence before Hermione spoke.

“I could see it earlier when we were standing in that alley. If your slut hadn’t come and interrupted you I’m sure you would have killed me.” Malfoy smiled before taking a step back, finally releasing her.

“You’re right; I did want to use magic, but not to kill you. If she hadn’t interrupted me I would have removed the memories you had of me, nothing else.” If he wasn’t a Death Eater she might have believed him.

“You think I’ll expose you?” She knew he had run away as soon as the war was over, leaving his wife and son to clean up after him. They weren’t sent to Azkaban because of how they had helped Harry in the war, but they still had to pay. If Lucius was caught he would have been locked up at once. “You don’t have to worry about me exposing you sir; in exposing you I would do the same to me, and I have sacrificed too much to do that.” She looked at the ground, happy to see that nothing had rolled out of the bag. “So if you would have me excused, I think I’ll head home.” She quickly picked up the bag and almost run away from him.

She didn’t stop until she reached a light stop. Taking a chance to look behind her she was shocked to see the man following her. “I won’t tell anybody, so you can leave me alone,” she said, hoping it would work.

“And why should I believe you? You’re a Gryffindor after all.” Nervously Hermione glanced around her to see if anyone noticed the word, but the Muggles didn’t seem to pay any attention to them.

“And you’re a Slytherin, but I still believe you when you said you would only remove the memories where I saw you,” she lied. “I would even take the unbreakable wow if I knew you would leave me alone.” She hoped he saw just how serious she was and leave her alone.

Just as he opened his mouth the light turned green and Hermione joined the Muggles as they crossed the street. She was afraid of turning to see if he was still following her, but she knew she had to. Nervously she glanced back, scanning the crowd for the familiar blond hair. When she did not see any blond hair she breathed out, glad that she didn’t have to fear the rest of her way home, especially since she had no wand to protect herself with.

Feeling slightly better she walked the rest of the way home where she prepared dinner and continued reading her book. Before she knew it the day had passed by and it was time for bed. After brushing her teeth and changed into her pyjamas she slipped into her bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was woken up by the warm sun caressing her skin. Because it was Sunday she did not bother about waking up early; all she did was take her time, and enjoy. Drowsily she turned her head and looked at the clock, it showed twelve. Smiling she stretched out in bed before slowly getting out of bed. After locating her slippers she made her way into the kitchen that was right across her bedroom. 

Craving a cup of tea she put some water to boil using the Muggle appliance. She knew it would be easier to use a wand, but sometimes she enjoyed taking her time. While waiting for the water she listened to the cars that drove by the block, the TV from the neighbour, the music from the teenager across her kitchen, and people talking outside. She had learned to appreciate every tiny detail of a normal life.

The light on the water boiler turned itself off and she quickly poured it into her cup. Pulling out a few crackers from the cupboard she slowly made her way into the living room where her book was patiently waiting for her.

As she turned the corner she saw one thing she never expected to see in her living room. Lucius Malfoy was casually sitting on her sofa, reading one of her books. The shock was enough for her to yell and drop her cup. She would be too scared to even move if it wasn’t for the burning tea on her naked legs, since her pyjama bottom was a pair of shorts.

She yelled while trying to brush of the burning water. Knowing she had to get some cold water she turned around to run into the bathroom, only to be stopped by a strong arm that turned her around and forced her to sit down on the floor.

Hermione was about to yell and push him away when he found his wand. Fear stopped her from fighting him, but luckily he did not hurt her. Instead he used several cooling and healing spells. She watched him as he concentrated about her legs, making sure the spells took care of every inch of skin that came in contact with the water.

The whole situation was surreal for Hermione; it was almost like a dream. When the burning was nothing more than a faint sting Malfoy grabbed her and lifted her up in his arms. Hermione was far to shocked to do more than hold onto him as he carried her over to her sofa and placed her down.

When she sat safely on the sofa he turned back to the mess on the floor and magically cleaned it. After repairing her broken mug he placed it down on the table and then turned his attention back to her. 

“You should be more careful,” he said.

“I never thought I had to check for strangers in my living room before.” Hermione realised he was going to sit down next to her and quickly moved further away from him. Feeling slightly embarrassed over her outfit she pulled up a blanket and wrapped it around herself. When she looked back at him she thought he looked amused, which was not something she appreciated.

Now that things had calmed down she could finally think straight again, and she began to worry. “What are you doing here?” Hermione hoped he wasn’t planning to kill her. “Are you going to remove my memories?” she asked nervously.

“I see you don’t trust me,” he said as he crossed his legs. Hermione looked away, but she could still feel his eyes on her.

“If its trust you want then you’re doing it all wrong by breaking into my apartment. So are you going to remove my memories? Or are you planning to kill me?” She would rather know what he wanted to do so she knew what she had to do. Hopefully he would not kill her because she was not able to defend herself very well without her wand.

“Breathe miss; I’m not planning to do either one of those things.” Confused Hermione turned her head back at him.

“I don’t understand. Then what are you doing here? Why did you break into my apartment?” Feeling uncomfortable about his presence she tried to stand up, ignoring the sore feeling on her legs from where the water had burned her. “And when did you break into my apartment?”

He looked at his hands for a second before turning his gaze back at her. “I let myself in at seven in the morning; and the reason why I’m here is kind of complicated.”

“Try me,” she dared him.

“As you wish.” Hermione thought he would tell her at once, but first he had to make himself more comfortable. After five seconds where he tried to find a good position he finally opened his mouth. “Since the day I arrived in Spain,”

“Don’t you mean the day you ran away?” she boldly said.

“I would think twice before rudely interrupting me like that, especially since I’m not the only one who seems to be hiding.” She knew she shouldn’t have said what she said, but that didn’t give him a reason to be mean to her. ”Since the day I arrived in Spain I’ve been lonely. I cannot speak to any of my acquaintances, and neither can I be in touch with any wizard or witch. When I saw you I thought I had failed and would have to move again. I did of course think of removing certain memories, but things didn’t go exactly after plan. I decided to follow you and see where you lived so I could take care of it later. Of course things didn’t go as planned and we ended up speaking.”

Hermione’s legs started to hurt more so she had to sit down. After she was sure most of her was hidden beneath the blanket she turned her eyes back at him. “Did you change your mind because I said I would take the unbreakable vow?”

“No.” A part of her was hurt while another part was curious about the real reason. “It was the part about you having to expose yourself as well that made me thing. After our short meeting, and after I followed you in secret, I came to realise you might be the only magical person I can speak to without fearing the ministry will hear about me.”

“You’re planning to use me!” she screamed out in anger, feeling like a fool for thinking he might have changed a tiny bit.

“In one way yes, but I’m not the only one that will use someone; you will use me as well.”

“What are you talking about? How can I use you when I don’t want anything to do with you?” He uncrossed his legs and moved slightly closer to Hermione, both silencing her and making her more uncomfortable.

“You haven’t used me yet, but you will within the next few days.” He sounded confident about himself, which made Hermione even more nervous.

“I don’t see how I would use you, it’s not like you have anything I want.” It was a lie, but she could not let him know she was jealous of several things, like the way he didn’t have to work to have money.

“Back to my story. Because I don’t have to fear being found I thought that we could change your living arrangement.” Hermione was silent for two seconds before realising what he might be saying.

“Are you saying that you want to sleep with me?” There was no way he would allow her to touch her.

“What? No! Oh my, you do have a filthy mind. What I meant was you move to the hotel in the room next to mine.” She was more than pleased that he did not think about having sex with her, because if he tried his cock would be cursed, even if she didn’t have her wand with her.

“So you want me to live next door to you? Why?”

“Because I have nobody to speak to.” Hermione was sure that was not the truth, he didn’t seem to have any difficulties speaking to the two sluts in the bar.

“What about the girls from yesterday?” she asked.

“Do you honestly think I’m able to have a decent conversation with them? And there is no point in dating someone older because they will know something isn’t right when you carry a stick with you all day, and things suddenly happen. Most young girls don’t bother about those things.” She understood his point, but that didn’t mean she would accept his offer.

“If it’s a conversation you want then I don’t see why I can’t live here.” It wasn’t like she wanted to live in that crappy apartment, but it was the only place she had.

“I thought about that at first, but then I saw this dump and decided you would be better off somewhere else.”

“What makes you think you know what’s best for me?” Maybe he was right about the apartment, but she was planning to move soon. “I admit it’s not the best place to live, but I can’t afford to move yet because I don’t have a savings account with endless of money I can simply open every time I want something.”

“That is why I’m offering to pay.” There had to be a catch, there always was when someone like Malfoy offered to do something.

“Why are you doing this? What do you want from me? Am I to be your personal maid or cook? Or do you just want someone to terrorize?” There were endless of possibilities to why he would be would be nice to her.

“I don’t need any maid or cook, neither am I planning to bully you. All I want is someone I know I can talk to before I’m going crazy by the lack of interaction with normal people.”

“You mean with someone who aren’t Muggles.” He smiled again.

“My son did say you’re a clever witch, he did of course not like it for several reasons.” Hermione could easily name two reasons, one because she was better than him, and another because she was Muggle-born. “Of course one of the reasons I would rather have a conversation with you is because you’re a witch. I’m sure you know well enough how you have to watch your every word so Muggles won’t discover what you really are.”

“Yes, I know how hard that is, as well as how difficult it is to be around someone who looks down on anyone who is not Muggle-born.”

“At least I’m trying to put that behind me for the sake of my mental health in this forsaken Muggle city.” She knew she had crossed a line, but why should she be nice when he, and especially his son, were never kind to her.

“Then you better apologize to me for all the crap you thought about me.”

“Like your conscience is clean. Can you honestly say you have never thought anything bad about me?” Hermione was suddenly reminded about when she was still at school and fought with Draco.

“That is completely different. You hate me as well as anyone who are not pure-blood because you grew up thinking were Muddblood. The thought of getting to know me before you judge me never crossed your mind because I’m below you in blood status. I of course knew how you were before I judged you.”

“Such big words from a small witch who doesn’t have a wand to protect herself with.” As he said that he pulled out his wand from his cane and pointed it at her. “You should watch your tongue miss before I remove it.”

Keeping her mouth shut was probably the smartest thing she could do right then, but the fighter in her would not allow him to win that easily. “I doubt you feel as powerful without your wand,” she spat out. “I still remember how broken you were the day those snatchers brought us to your home.”

She barely had a chance to finish her sentence before Malfoy attacked her. Surprisingly he did not use magic, not that it was any better. His hands were wrapped around her neck, squeezing enough to make her fight for air.

“I’m…” she said as she desperately tried to remove his hands from around her neck.

“You’re what, sorry?” he said in a surprisingly calm voice.

“I’m pregnant.” A moment after she confessed he removed his hands and sat on the further end of the sofa. Hermione took deep breaths while trying to remember where exactly she had placed her wand. 

“I’m sorry; I did not mean to scare you like that.” Hermione stared at him, shocked by his apology but also afraid that he would do something else. “I only wanted to show you I’m powerful even without a wand. I would also apologise for our past where I judged you without knowing you.”

“I appreciate the sincere apology, but I do not want to see you again.”

There was a silence between them where Malfoy seemed to be deep in thought. “You don’t want to take my offer for an easier life because I made a mistake?”

“I doubt my life will be easier because I move, but yes. I do not want to live somewhere where I have to fear for my life. Now if you would please leave my apartment.” She was about to stand up when Malfoy grabbed her wrist and forced her to sit again. “Please release me,” she calmly said, trying to hide how scared she really was.

“If I really want I can easily use magic to take you with me, and you wouldn’t have a chance to object to it. But I will not do anything like that because I want you to decide by yourself.”

“All you want is for me to agree to what you want, not to actually decide anything.” Hermione could feel her temper heat up by his attempt to convince her.

“Are you really pregnant?” His question took her by surprise.

“You don’t believe me,” she said while trying to pull her hand out of his grip. “Why would I make such a lie?”

“If you are pregnant then you wouldn’t want to have a baby in an environment like this, not when you can live in a nice, clean and safe room.”

“I’m saving up to move somewhere safer.”

“It still won’t be as good as that room I’m offering,” he said while releasing her arm.

Hermione stared at him, wondering why he wouldn’t let her be. “Why would I want to give up the privacy of my apartment to live with someone who is a Death Eater, fugitive and violent?” His eyes moved from her face to her naked legs. Not wanting him to stare she quickly covered herself up.

“Because,” he said as he stared at her face once again. “Because I’m not as bad as you think, and neither will you be sharing my room, you will have your own.”

“Why don’t you understand it Mr Malfoy, I don’t want to trade my apartment for one room with a tiny bathroom and a bar.” She had to take a deep breath so she wouldn’t start shouting again.

“It’s a suite, the bathroom is large, and you won’t need any kitchen because the room service is excellent.”

“But what if I want a kitchen to make my own cup of tea?” She knew her reasons for continuing living in her crappy apartment were weak, but she did not want to be one of his pawns.

“What if you take my offer, live in the hotel a month, and if you still want to move I’ll personally help you find a place that is five times better than this?” Hermione could not deny that his offer sounded wonderful.

“I’m lucky if I can afford something that is twice as good as this apartment.”

“You will have something five times as good because I’ll pay for it.” Hermione was shocked by his offer to pay for her, mostly because she did not think he would spend money on a Muggle-born.

“I don’t see why you would pay for me. What is it you really want from me?” She had to know if there were any catch.

“All I want is someone I can talk to without needing to carefully choose my words.” She didn’t really believe it was the only thing he wanted, but could not deny that his offer was tempting. She did not like to take money from anyone, but she did fear that once the baby was born she would have very little, especially if she wanted to find a better place to live.

“Don’t think I enjoy taking your money, because I don’t. But I do need a better place to live, especially because I’m going to have a child.” She didn’t feel well knowing just accepted an offer she knew she wouldn’t be able to pay back. “How much will I have to pay back?”

“I thought you understood that you don’t have to pay anything, all you have to do is be there when I want a conversation.” Hermione still didn’t believe him, but decided not to say anything. “I’ll send someone over to help you pack.”

“What about my furniture?” Hermione looked around the room at the few things she owned.

“If you wish you can keep them, if not then someone will help you sell them and you can keep the money.”

In the end Hermione agreed to sell her furniture because Malfoy promised to buy her new ones if she decided a month with him was more than she could take. As soon as they agreed on a time when someone would pick her up he left her apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

When she was all alone she began packing the things she would wanted to take with her; books, clothes, savings and pictures of her family and friends. When she was done she took a look around her apartment, trying to remember if there was anything she had forgotten.

After she was done, took a shower and ate some dinner she sat down and read a book the last remaining hours she had left before someone would come and take her over to the hotel.

While reading she wondered what she was thinking accepting his offer. Normally she would fight guys like him, who thought they could force her to do whatever they wanted. That was why things ended between her and Ron. He didn’t force her to do anything, but he was not happy that she would not make him food, clean up after him, and do everything his mother used to do for him. They could have worked through things, but both agreed it was easier to find someone they were more comparable with.

After their relationship ended she worked for the minister, and there was where she met the father of her child. It was stupid of her to allow their relationship to go beyond a professional relationship, but how could she deny her heart?

When someone suddenly pushed the button to her apartment on the intercom system she jumped in shock. Quickly she looked at the clock she realised almost an hour had passed while she was thinking about her life.

Quickly she walked over to her door and pushed the button. “Who is it?”

“I’m Anna, sent from Parador de León; Mr Williams requested help for your move to the hotel,” the woman named Anna said in perfect English. For a brief moment Hermione wanted to say she didn’t know a Mr Williams, but quickly realised Malfoy might be using that name as a cover.

She opened the front door and then unlocked her own door while waiting for the woman. Because her bag was magical she didn’t need more than one, which didn’t look like much for a Muggle. Luckily the woman did not notice, or at least she didn’t say anything. Smilingly she picked up Hermione’s bag and told her the car was waiting.

Hermione thought someone would come after her in a cab and was surprised when she saw a limo. Secretly she hoped it was the hotel that decided to send the limo and not the man she did not understand.

Nervously Hermione stared out the window of the luxurious car, wondering what she had done to be treated this well.

As they drove up the road to the front of the hotel all Hermione could do was try to remember how to breathe. The hotel was magnetic. Although she did not know how old the building was it had to be more than three hundred years old, at least. The sight was even more breath taking as she climbed out of the car and slowly walked towards the building.

Hermione had always appreciated old buildings; the details were breath taking, and the time it must have taken made each old building even more amazing. She had to get help from the woman to enter the building since she could barely walk.

It was not the first time she had reacted that way for a building or monument, and she feared it would not be the last time. It wasn’t until she reached her teen years that she started reacting like that to old buildings; at first she thought it was because of the things she had gone through with her friends, but then she realised her problem was growing. The worst experience she had was when she visited Paris with her family. When she first laid eyes on the Eiffel tower for the first time she broke down in tears, and had to be carried away by her father. Since then she has learned how to handle herself when those overwhelming feelings possessed her.

She wondered how it was possible for her to live there at least a month without breaking down once she took a walk outside, maybe it was best to stay in her room till she had to leave the building because of her job.

“You like the building?” the woman asked nicely.

“It’s magnetic, almost too wonderful.” Hermione looked around her as they entered the building. The details on the doors, the furniture, decorations, it was almost like she had lost her breath again.

“This is nothing compared to the Cathedral of Leon.” Hermione knew she could not compare them.

“If I can barely walk on my own now how do you think I’m able to survive visiting the cathedral?” Anna chuckled, which helped Hermione relax a little.

“I’ll help you over to your room,” Anna said while saying something in Spanish to the receptionist. Hermione was way to occupied staring at the chandelier to bother about other people. Anna decided that since the stairs would most likely kill Hermione they would take the elevator up and then hopefully make their way to Hermione’s room. Hermione couldn’t agree more when she saw the paintings hanging on the wall by the stairs.

Ten minutes later they were standing outside a large wooden door. Hermione tried not to turn around to watch the paintings and statues that decorated the hall as the woman found the key and unlocked the door.

Hermione was glad the woman suggested she should rest because she did not think she could have a tour of her room while being in the state she was in. Luckily the bedroom was almost the first thing she saw once she entered the room, which allowed her to lie down and close her eyes without seeing the decorations in the room.

As she lay there she realised she was exhausted, and slowly she slipped into a deep sleep where she didn’t need to worry she would break down in tears if she saw a masterpiece.

When she woke up next she realised it was dark outside, which meant she must have been asleep for a long time. As she sat up she realised she was not in her apartment, and for a few seconds she was afraid. Luckily she quickly remembered what happened and could relax again.

Her calmness did not last long of course, not when someone spoke to her from across the room. Afraid of the stranger she searched for her wand, only to remember she had not yet unpacked. Luckily for her the stranger turned on the lights and she could see who he was.

“What are you doing here?” she asked nervously, glad she hadn’t undressed.

“I wanted to see how you liked your room.” Hermione chose to look around the room before answering him, since she had not yet had a chance to explore it.

“This is a pretty fancy room, isn’t it?” She felt like fancy was not a strong enough word to use about the room, which was clearly more than fancy. Elegant, rich, classy, they were all words that fit better, but she chose fancy. “How much does it cost to rent this room?” she asked curiously.

Malfoy smiled as he stood up from the chair in the other room. “You don’t need to worry about that, it’s all being taken care of.” The way he said it, like paying for such a room was nothing, almost made her sick. Normally she didn’t care about rich people, but seeing as she had now basically attached herself to Malfoy for a month she could not help feeling ill.

She did not want him to win and decided to find the truth about the room. “I thought I was getting a tiny room, this is clearly not a tiny room.” If she wasn’t wrong it looked more like a suite than any ordinary room. “Where do you get the money from? I thought when someone were on the run they couldn’t live as luxurious as this, especially when that someone does not want to be discovered.”

“I know now my cover is perfect because you think I should pretend to be poor. Don’t you see? Everyone will think I’m hiding with the normal people, not living in a hotel with money and servants.” Hermione would never admit it out loud, but he was right; nobody expected someone to live like a prince when they’re hiding, at least not unless they know the man or woman.

“So this will be my room for the next month? What if I want a smaller room?” What she really wanted was to live in her apartment again, where she did not have to fight daily with her sanity not to break down because of a painting or a statue, or just the decorations on some stupid table. She knew the syndrome she was suffering from was almost too much, but she had no idea how to treat it, especially since not many knew about the syndrome. “I would be more comfortable if I lived in another hotel,” she ended up saying, hoping she didn’t have to explain to him what was wrong with her.

“Why? Are my not happy about the help I’m offering?” The way he said it made it sound like she was ungrateful for all the money he had invested in her.

“I just want to live somewhere more modern.” That was the reason why she enjoyed living at home with her parents; they liked modern designs, that was why she wasn’t suffering from Stendhal syndrome while living there. It was Hogwarts of course that crushed the last control she had over her emotions, and turned her into the wreck.

“I’m sorry, but that is out of the question.” He stood up and walked towards the door without a single goodbye. Desperate to get out of the hotel she opened her mouth to lie, only to discover too late that instead of a lie she told the truth.

“I have Stendhal syndrome, I can’t stay here.” He stopped, which shocked her, but not enough to make her worry.

“I don’t believe you.” He said coldly. What Hermione didn’t believe was that he knew what Stendhal syndrome was, mostly because it was such an unknown illness.

“I do have it, just ask the woman that came to get me, I could barely walk into this hotel without help from her.” Hermione was glad she could concentrate on his back instead of the room. Slowly he turned around until they were facing each other.

“If you are telling me the truth, then what are you feeling when you look at the painting on the wall there?” he said as he pointed at the wall she deliberately ignored. Taking a deep breath she slowly turned her head and stared at the painting.

The silence between then lasted a few seconds as she tried to recognize her feelings. “My heart, it’s strong, and I loose my breath; it feels like I’m going to faint anytime soon.” The artwork itself was not the most amazing she had seen, but the frame was breath taking. “I can’t control myself,” she cried out in pain.

That was when she felt something warm next to her, pulling her down. It wasn’t until she heard a voice calmly speak into he ear until she finally relaxed again. Being held like that was way more comforting than she ever thought it could be.

It wasn’t until most of the effect the picture had on her was gone that she could make out what he was saying.

“Just take deep breaths and this will all be over.” She had not expected him to be as kind, especially not towards her. Unaware of her action she placed one hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

“Why can’t I control it?” she worriedly asked him, not aware that she started to rub her hand against his chest.

“Because it’s a difficult thing to control.” Hermione lifted her head and stared at him, still not removing her hand. “I suffered from the same thing when I was younger, although not as bad as you.” The knowledge that he used to suffer from something made him seem more human, more sympathetic; and for the first time Hermione felt something she thought she had long buried.

Not wanting things to proceed she pushed herself away from him, still not aware over the fact that she had been cuddling against his chest. “Since you believe me, will you please look for another place for me to live?” she asked hopefully.

“There is a way to work around the syndrome, you do know that?” he asked as if she should know it already. Hermione shook her head, confused why he knew so much about her illness. “It will take time, but in the end you will be able to walk around this building without fearing you will break down any minute.”

Hermione looked at the picture again, wondering how it would be not to break down by such beauty. “I’m sorry,” she said while looking away from the picture. “How is it that you know so much about this?”

“Because I used to suffer from the same thing when I was a young adult. Maybe not as much as you’re suffering, but enough for it to bother me.” They sat there in silence until Hermione realised what was going on between them. Feeling embarrassed over the way she acted she pushed herself away from him.

“I think you better leave.” Hermione moved further away from him as he stood up from the bed. Noticing her bag she quickly picked it up, found her wand and magically spelled the sheets to cover up several of the larger paintings.

“I’ll have someone to take them down until you can control it.” Hermione did not want to answer him, or even look at him. Mostly angry at herself she began rolling his wand between her fingers. Malfoy did not say anything else before leaving her room.

She did not see him the rest of that night, which was perfect since she wanted some time to think through everything that happened before going to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was a Monday, which meant workday. Hermione stood up early, took a shower and made a phone call down to the kitchen to order some breakfast. She did not like to order other people to cook for her, but since there was no kitchen in her room she had to accept help from others.

She was about to put on her shoes when someone knocked on her door. Startled she looked through the peephole in the door and saw long blond hair tied up with a perfect bow. Grunting she rested her forehead against the door, wondering if she should pretend she out, or just sleeping. She knew of course she would not be able to leave him in the hallway like that and quickly opened the door.

“What?” she asked.

“I just thought I should tell you the good news, you don’t need to go back to your job because I quit for you.” Hermione stared at him in disbelief, not sure she heard right.

“What?!” she ended up screaming. “You quit my job? Why would you do something that stupid?” She slammed open the door and prepared herself or a fight with the man. Sadly she did not have her wand since she could not take the risk of her boss, or ex-boss, finding it again. “It’s one thing to pay for a place I could never afford, but to take away my only source of income!”

She was about to hit him when he pulled out his wand and forced her backwards until she was lying on the bed. “Release me this instant, you big bully!” Hermione screamed while trying to fight the invincible bonds.

“Don’t make me gag you Granger,” he snapped. Slightly shocked by his reaction she closed her mouth. “If you would take a few seconds to listen to me you might discover why I quit your crappy Muggle job. Your boss is of course an asshole, but I don’t see the point in slaving for that man for the lousy pay you were receiving.” Hermione wanted to tell him that the lousy pay was what was keeping her alive, but she didn’t dare when she saw how angry he was.

Undoing the spell so she could finally move again he stood up in front of her like the aristocrat he was. “I decided to double your pay and have you working for me.”

“What exactly am I supposed to do, sir?” She hated the way he made her feel like a damsel in distress.

In a less annoyed tone he told her what he expected of her. “Reading books, preparing for the birth, working through your issues.”

“You would pay me for doing nothing?” she asked, stunned by his offer. “What is it exactly you want? Because you’re investing an awful lot of money in me.”

“Why do you think I need to have a motive behind everything I do? I might give you more work later, but right now that’s all you have to do.”

Normally she would have thanked him, but something about his grin when he said the last sentence bugged her. “What is this? Some poor attempt to get one foot back in society? Helping the poor Muggle-born girl who became pregnant?”

“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t automatically assume I’m using you like that. Sure, I’m lonely and would chat with anyone, no matter what rank they might have. That of course doesn’t mean I’m torturing myself by being in the same room as you, only that I’m willing to look beyond birth to have a normal conversation about magic.”

That was when Hermione should have been mature and accepted his offer with a smile on her lips, but that was not what she said next. “Get out of this room, I don’t wish to see you again.”

It seemed like he was about to reply, but instead he nodded and slowly walked towards the door. “Someone from the hotel will be coming by later today to remove several of the paintings.” Hermione wanted to thank him but thought it sounded a little stupid to do so after she just threw him out.

As the door closed behind him she felt tears run down her cheeks. Drying her face with the back of her hand she headed into the bathroom where she splashed some cold water on her face. Hermione felt disgusted by the image that stared back at her in the mirror. Her hair looked like a bush, she was fat, her eyes red as blood from crying like a pathetic girl, and her tongue was evil. The vision was of course much worse than she really was, but feeling as bad as she did she couldn’t help seeing herself as bad as that.

“You chased him away, now you want to chase Malfoy as well? How many have been nice to you? How many wouldn’t care about who’s baby it is?” she told herself before angrily walking back to her bed where she crawled beneath the duvet, maybe some sleep would lighten her mind.

She had barely fallen asleep when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Exhausted she stood up and clumsily walked over to the door, prepared to tell whoever was standing outside her door. She liked out of the peeking hole in the door and was surprised to see several staff members, luckily she remembered Malfoy said he had ordered them to remove the paintings because if not she would have asked them to go away.

Glad that she would be able to walk around the hotel room without worrying that she would break down any moment she opened the door and watched them as they removed paintings, covered several decorations, and to her shock, placed a large mirror with a heavily decorated frame by the writing table.

Hermione was about to say something when the man that seemed to be in charge told her Malfoy said it was for practice.

She tried to avoid looking at the mirror as they left her room, ad continued to ignore it as she went back to bed, glad that she fell asleep shortly after.

When she woke up the second time she felt less exhausted, but still emotionally tired. This time when she looked at herself in the mirror she didn’t think she looked nearly as bad as before, but she was still no miss universe.

After she was done refreshing herself she called for some food to be brought up to be brought up to her room, she had not eaten in a long time and started to feel unwell.

After she ate she pulled out a book from her bag and started reading; at least she wouldn’t waste her free time. She might hate not having a job to go to, even if she hated her boss and worked way more than needed, but she would not waste her time on whining about all the things she wanted to do. At least now she didn’t have to fear that stress might destroy the remaining time of her pregnancy.

-o-

Hermione believed Malfoy would come back and tell her just how badly she behaved towards him when he has been so kind with her; but he was never the one knocking on the door. By asking the servant that often came to her room with the food she ordered she discovered Malfoy was living in a room two doors down from hers. Hermione rarely left her room, but when she did she often looked over at the door to Malfoy’s room. 

Things continued like that for over two weeks before Hermione decided it was enough. Every day she wondered if that would be the day he stood outside her room, knocking on her door, but he never showed.

Determined to tell him just how sick she was of his behaviour, and her situation, she stomped over to his room.

She knew exactly what she would tell him, that once the month had passed she wanted to move because all she did was avoid walking into any room, and outside, that had too many decorations. After knocking firmly she waited, luckily it didn’t take more than a few seconds before she heard him walking towards the door.

Hermione opened her mouth and took a deep breath, prepared to tell him what she thought about her situation, only to end up gaping at him.

She might have expected something, but what she saw was not one of those things. Malfoy was standing in the doorway, topless. Hermione wasn’t sure what to say, it wasn’t like she expected anything like that to happen.

Confused, and still shocked, she stared at his torso. He didn’t have lots of muscles, only enough to make him look strong. His skin was light with scars, and a very thin layer of hair. To her surprise she could see a tattoo on his right hip of a snake that seemed ready to attack. She knew she must be blushing since he had to swallow more than normal, which was not a good thing when she wanted to be serious.

“Can you please put on something decent?” she asked, hoping he would do as she wished for once.

“Aren’t I decent?” he asked in an arrogant and bemused tone.

Hermione had to remind herself to look up at his face every two seconds, which was not a good thing for her. “You barely have any clothes on.”

“I thought that since I’m paying I would be allowed to wear anything I wanted, and in this case, wearing as little as possible.” Hermione’s eyes could not be stopped this time as they wandered over his body, not stopping until she reached a certain part of him which was luckily still covered, if only barely.

“If you would be so kind to put on something then I would be most grateful.” This time luckily she managed to keep her eyes on his.

Nodding he turned around and walked into the bathroom, leaving Hermione alone in the doorway. As he returned he was tying the ropes around the bathrobe. “Was it anything you wanted, besides criticising me for what I’m wearing?”

“I’m sorry sir, it was not meant as criticism. I just,” She wasn’t able to finish before he interrupted her.

“Just couldn’t take your eyes off me, I understand.” This time Hermione could easily feel her body heating up as she was blushing. “You may come in if you wish, unless you like standing in the doorway of a hotel.” Feeling like a fool she entered his room, careful about not looking at the paintings and statues that decorated the room.

“Do you want anything to drink?” he asked her as he walked into the living area. It seemed to her that his room was larger than her, not that it mattered to her.

“No, I just wanted to speak to you.” Quickly she walked closer to him. “I can’t live here after my month is over; it’s just too much for me.” It wasn’t exactly how she wanted to say it, but his naked torso had wiped some of her memory.

“And why is that?” he asked calmly as he pulled out a bottle of wine from the ice bucket.

“All I have done so far is read, sleep, read, sleep. It’s not something I’m used to. My problem is still as bad as before, since I have no idea how to overcome it. The mirror in my room does not help at all so I covered it up.” Slowly she sipped from his glass, staring at her with an intense look that almost made her uncomfortable.

“I assume you have only been to a Muggle doctor then, because wizards know how to treat Stendhal syndrome. Many humans has the syndrome, some without even knowing it themselves, but it affects magical people more because we are just that, magical. I’m not saying that if we are hit by an illness we are worse than Muggles, but we do experience things differently.” Interested Hermione listened to him, surprised she had not heard about that before. Maybe she knew so little because she wasn’t interested in healing.

“So it’s harder for us to overcome it?” It might be a stupid question, but that was how she received some of her answers.

“In one way yes, but if you know the right method it’s pretty easy to overcome it.” Maybe she should have ignored her parents and visited a healer, since they seemed to know more about it than a Muggle doctor.

“So what is the right method?” she asked curiously.

Malfoy took another sip of his glass before placing it down on the table. Slowly he walked over to her, placing on hand on her shoulder. Hermione stopped breathing for a moment as his hand lingered on her shoulder. “You have to take a deep breath,” he said as he walked closer to her. “look at something that you can’t normally look at and think about something you love.” Slowly he turned her around until she was facing a large painting with a heavily decorated frame. “Think about something that calms you down,” he whispered against her ear.

She tried her best to do as he said, to think about something she loved. Some things, like her friendships, worked a while, as well as her family, but there was one thing that kept coming back, Malfoy’s naked chest.

Afraid of her thoughts she ripped herself away from his grip and rand over to the door where she rested her forehead. “I can’t do this,” she said defeated.

“I wasn’t expecting to see miracles; it took me three months to master it.” She was glad he hadn’t figured out why she ran, it was embarrassing enough to be caught staring.

“You had it?” she asked, surprised he shared such private information with her.

“Yes. It might not be as bad as yours because I got help early on, but I still had it bad.” Hermione still didn’t dare to look at him in fear that she would see him half naked, not that she needed to see him in order to imagine the chest, hair, scars, and that sensual tattoo. “If you keep practising I’m sure you will learn it eventually.”

“I need to go back to my room,” she said before quickly leaving his hotel room, hoping he wouldn’t follow her.

Once she was safely in her room she quickly headed into the bathroom and washed her face with cold water, glad that it seemed to help her hormones calm down. Maybe it was because she was pregnant, or maybe she only hadn’t experienced enough in her life, but she did not think it was normal to be haunted by someone’s body like she was right then.

Hoping she would forget his body soon she lay down on the bed to take a nap, hoping her dreams wouldn’t be haunted by a certain Slytherin who seemed to like and mess up her life.

Luckily for her she did not dream, but that didn’t mean she had forgotten about him. Deciding to spend the rest of the day practising instead she sat down in front of the mirror, trying to think about anything besides his body. Friends, family and the baby was a few things that calmed her down. With those things in her mind she removed the cover from the mirror and fought the horrible feelings that were taking over her body.

That was how she spent the rest of her night, as well as the next day since Malfoy did not knock on her door.


	5. Chapter 5

The third day after the half-naked incident Hermione lay in the bath tub, relaxing after several hours of practising in front of the mirror. She has seen great progress, and if she kept going she could be mostly stable in less than two weeks.

With her eyes closed, listening to some classical music, she did not notice that someone entered her hotel room, nor that someone stood in the middle of the doorway. It wasn’t until he cleared his voice that she finally realised she was not alone.

Screaming from shock she covered herself with the towel. “What are you doing here!” she screamed.

“I just wanted to see you,” he said with a smirk. “It’s been days since you visited me.”

“Is this because I saw you half naked?” Making sure none of her private parts showed she sat up in the bathtub.

“This was not intentionally, I did not know you were in the bathtub. Of course, that does not mean I regret seeing you naked.” Hermione felt her body heat up as Malfoy left the doorway, allowing her to get up from the bathtub.

Closing the door so he wouldn’t be able to take another peek at her she quickly dried herself before putting on her underwear and a bathrobe. Wrapping the towel around her hair she entered her room to see what Malfoy was doing.

He was standing by the mirror, staring at it for a second before looking up at Hermione as she entered her bedroom. “So how is your training?”

Ignoring what just happened she answered him truthfully, and properly. “Really good actually, with enough concentration I can look at the mirror without losing my breath.”

He nodded. “If you would get dressed I would love to take you on a short walk, just so you can experience other things besides this mirror. You have fifteen minutes before I’m coming after you.” It was the last thing he said before leaving her alone in her room.

Fifteen minutes later she walked out of her room, almost shocked to see that Malfoy was waiting for her. He began explaining to her about the way the Stendhal syndrome worked, how beauty affected them. Then he told her about several other techniques she could learn to help her calm down in case the other techniques failed.

Everything seemed to go well between them, until they reached a statue of a lady that was almost naked. “Reminds me about something I saw earlier,” Malfoy said amused. It was the first time he spoke about the incident, which made her think he might be kind enough to pretend like it never happened.

She was not in the mood to joke about her body. “Next time you want to talk I suggest you knock first.”

“I don’t see why I need to seeing as I’m the one paying.” Hermione stared at him, shocked that he said something as ridiculous as that.

“I knew you would one day use the fact that you’re paying for me against me.” Hermione placed her hands on her hips.

“Should I hide the fact that I’m paying for you? That I opened a door you would never be able to open yourself with the poor salary you were making?” She refused to show him just how much his words had hurt.

“Thanks for reminding me I wasn’t born with a fucking gold spoon shoved up my ass. Is this how the rest of my stay will be? You barged in on me in the shower only because you’re paying for the room? If it wasn’t because I don’t know where to go, or how to make money when I have lost the only place that was willing to hire me without a good resume, I would have walked out of this.” Feeling way to upset to continue the conversation she knew she had to leave. “I do not want to see you again for the rest of my stay here.” It was the last thing she said before quickly running back to her room, this time locking it with several spells she knew.

If she thought she would accept being property he was sorely mistaken, she refused to be everything others wanted her to be.

-o-

Hermione didn’t know if Malfoy tried to knock because she put a privacy spell on the room, which meant she would be able to hear if anyone knocked. She did of course remove it when she ordered food, but only then.

The days passed, and before she knew it she only had one week left before she could move out. Things has not been as she first thought they would be, getting so annoyed with Malfoy that she refused to see him, several times. She knew her hormones were crazy, making her react in a way she had not done before.

Knowing well enough that she needed to give him an apology for the way she reacted, even if he had done things she had not liked.

Slowly she made her way over to his room one late Friday, prepared to apologise and explain to him why she reacted the way she did. Firmly she knocked on his door, which opened several seconds later. This time he was fully dressed, like he was planning to go out. Not wanting to destroy his night she decided to make it quick.

“I’m sorry I reacted the way I had, it’s just that my hormones makes me react badly. You of course shouldn’t have said, or done what you did, it’s really disrespectful for my privacy.” She watched him as he smiled, probably amused by her poor attempt to apologise. “I’m sorry if I’m keeping you from leaving.”

“If you think wasting one minute of my time is keeping me from enjoying the rest of my night then you’re not as intelligent as I first thought.” Hermione wanted to answer him when she realised it was a joke.

“Anyway, I won’t keep you longer.” She turned and headed back to her room. Hermione lay down on the bed and read her book until she was too tired to stay awake and went to sleep.

When she woke up the next time she realised it was the middle of the night seeing as it was still dark outside. She was not sure what woke her up, but decided it was better to go to sleep than bothering about such a small detail.

She was about to relax when she suddenly hear a noise, coming from inside her room. “Who’s there?” she asked automatically, realising too late she should be pulling out her wand instead of discovering the identity of who was breaking into her room.

“It’s just me,” she heard a male voice say, slightly intoxicated. Glad she wasn’t in greater danger she slightly relaxed.

“What are you doing here?” She wondered if he still thought that since he paid for her he was allowed to barge in on her at the least convenient moment.

“I wanted to see you.” Hermione turned on the nightstand light, covering up her eyes when the light blinded her.

“What time is it?” Confused she looked over at the clock, shocked to see it was four in the morning. “Couldn’t it wait till morning?” she asked.

“No,” he said shortly before climbing on the bed and crawling over at her side. Hermione stared at him in shock, not sure what to say to such a behaviour. It wasn’t until he was trying to pull her closer to him for what looked like a kiss that she reacted.

“What are you doing?” she screamed while jumping out from bed.

“I just wanted to kiss you.” Hermione couldn’t be sure, but it did sound like he meant it, which was almost shocking.

“How much have you drunk tonight?” She hoped his strange behaviour could be explained with alcohol, not that it made the situation any better.

“I don’t know, after the tenth drink I sort of lost count.” Hoping he was not a mean drunk she looked for her wand. “What matters is not how much I have drank, but how much I want you. I’m sure you feel the same, which should make this way less complicated.”

“Less complicated? Even before now things were not uncomplicated. And you’re wrong when it concerns me; I do not feel the same.” It was a lie; she did have some feelings for him, but not the same way he seemed to feel. 

“Don’t you think I noticed the way you looked at me?” She knew he wasn’t stupid and had noticed the way she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

“Ok, I’ll admit that I stared at you, but that does not mean I want to kiss you.” Quickly she reached for her wand. Sadly Malfoy saw what she planned to do and quickly took her wand; apparently his reaction skills were not affected by alcohol.

“What were you planning to do? Hex me?”

“If that would get you out of my room, then yes.” She watched him as he stood up from her bed with her wand pointing straight at her.

“Do you have any idea how heart breaking it is to know you planned to hurt me like that?” She watched him as he walked closer to her. Hermione started to fear him like the first day they met in the city.

He moved right in front of her, her wand still pointed against her. To her surprise he reached out for her and slowly stroked her hair, before allowing his hand to rest on her shoulder. The touch was almost all that was needed for her to forget to fight back. Slowly he leaned down for a kiss, which she accepted mostly because she was curious.

The kiss was soft, short and warm. She could easily smell alcohol on his breath, which should make her enjoy the kiss less, but didn’t.

She allowed him to pull her closer, to deepen the kiss, and even to touch her breast; it wasn’t until he started to pull at her clothes that she stopped him. “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this.”

She thought that telling him no would get a lot of protest from his side, but he accepted it. “You’re right, we should wait till at least till the end of your obligatory stay here. And I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t at least tell the girl to go home.” Hermione was confused and used a few seconds to figure out what he meant by what he said.

“You mean to say you have a girl waiting for you in your room while you’re here making out with me? What do you think I am, a common whore that will accept someone to make a fool out of me?”

“If you talked with me instead of snapping every time something isn’t like you expect it to be then I wouldn’t have gone out, wasted money and brought home a stupid Muggle girl.” Hermione stepped back from him, feeling used.

“So if I was kind every time you did stupid stuff, and gladly opened my legs, you would stay in your hotel room?”

“You know well enough I’m not that bad. All I want is to be around you, talking like normal people without fearing something I might say will offend you.” Hermione knew he was right like so many times before, and this time she decided to calm down.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t control my hormones, especially when my life is not like I thought it would be.” Hermione felt horrible about the way she treated him. Sure, he was a prick sometimes, but he had helped her on in several ways.

“All I want is for us to sit down and talk, without you going crazy because I say something you might not approve off at once.” Hermione was glad he wasn’t really angry at her, only the way she reacted, which was badly.

“I think I can do that, if you start respecting me, my privacy, and my decisions.” He smiled, nodded and offered her wand back. “Thank you.” Soon after that he said good night and left her room. For a second Hermione wanted to use all the spells she knew to lock him out, but decided to trust him instead.

-o-

Hermione did not see him until late the next day; she wasn’t surprised since it was pretty late when he got back. “Slept well?” she asked when she opened her door. This time he was kind enough to knock before entering.

“Would’ve been better if I didn’t have to sleep alone.” It wasn’t difficult to hear that he was not in a good mood.

“You didn’t have to chase her home if you didn’t want to.” All they had done was kiss, which was not a declaration of love, and because of that he was allowed to fuck whoever he wanted.

“I was not thinking about the girl,” he said in a deep voice that sent shivers down her back. Hermione looked away from him, embarrassed over the way his words affected her.

Not wanting the rest of the conversation to proceed in her doorway she invited him in and called the room service.

That night they had a long and nice conversation about most things, they did however manage to avoid talking about their roles in the war, and some of the things that happened after, like his escape, and her pregnancy.

The next day proceeded almost the same way, they met, ate, chatted and went to bed. Slowly Hermione began to feel things she told herself she would never feel again, not when all her relationships ended badly. She has of course been dating more than only Ron and the baby’s father. She dated a Ravenclaw named Duncan Inglebee, a Gabriel Truman who was in Hufflepuff, and for a brief month she even dated Anthony Goldstein, another Ravenclaw.

That was how the remaining time of her month passed, with them talking about most things that they found interesting.

By the end she had changed her mind about moving, something Malfoy didn’t mind at all. After she told him her decision she knew he would try to get her into his bed, but she had no idea how kind he would be while flirting with her, never suggesting they would sleep together as soon as the trial month was over.

It wasn’t until the end of the second month that they kissed again, this time they knew each other better than before. Hermione still wouldn’t go further because she felt self-conscious about her looks, even if he often told her she was pretty, classy and other things she wanted to feel like.

Feeling like a whale didn’t help her either, even if it didn’t look like it bothered Malfoy. Hermione decided the reason behind his kind words were because he wanted to sleep with her.

As time passed, and her due date was closing in, she got to see a side of him which she had not seen before, a side which she had not expected to see. He placed his hand on her stomach to feel the kicking of the baby, he asked her if she was craving anything, and if she was she would call the room service. It did sound ridiculous, but the way he wanted her to be well was adorable.

Things worked so well that when it was time for her last check-up he came with her. It was not her idea but she didn’t mind it at all, not since she had gone alone since the first day. It wasn’t until they sat in the waiting room that she regretted accepting his suggestion. As she watched the couples she realised she and Malfoy looked completely out of place. The age difference, their looks, and even the way they acted, was completely opposite from each other. Maybe that was why the relationship worked, because they had to work harder to find things they had in common.

His behaviour once they could see the baby was almost ridiculous. She had not expected him to be almost crying, especially not when it wasn’t even his. She knew she had to speak to him once they were alone, to understand why he reacted like he did, because she had to know what was going on between them.

His answer did of course not answer her question, especially not since he had no idea why he behaved like that for a child that was not his. Hermione guessed it might be because he missed his son, and because they have gotten really close over the last two months.

“What do you want?” she asked him one day, needing to know what would happen in the future.

“I want you,” he answered truthfully. Hermione wasn’t sure what he meant, if he wanted her body, or her.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn’t until the third month, when she felt bigger than before, when she could barely hold it till she reached the bathroom when the child was kicking her bladder, when the morning sickness, cravings and hormones were crazy, that they decided to try and see where a relationship would go. It was then that Hermione felt good enough about herself that she was willing to sleep with him. That was also when she began using his first name.

Lucius was careful, and made sure she enjoyed everything he did. Hermione feared that her stomach might be in the way since she didn’t know much about sex while pregnant, but with the right position she was able to enjoy the night like before she became pregnant. That was the beginning of their sexual relationship.

Every day Hermione asked him if he still wanted her, which he always answered yes to, and that was how they always ended up in the bedroom. Hermione discovered that her sexual desire had grown after she got pregnant. She hadn’t noticed it before because she was alone and had to ignore her lust.

Slowly the time was passing and the due date was two weeks away. Hermione had eventually moved from her hotel room over to Lucius and shared his bed, all she needed was a chair to sit an read in, a bed to sleep in, and someone to talk to. She had finally learned to control the Stendhal syndrome by thinking about her family, friends, baby, and now Lucius. All that love combined calmed her down until she began thinking about the world in a more positive way.

Everything was going so great that she even forgot they were both hiding from people. It wasn’t until nine days before her due date that she was brutally woken.

Hermione was in the bedroom reading a book when she suddenly heard voices coming from the living room. Curious she stood up and walked over at the closed door where she tried to listen who Lucius was speaking with. Because it sounded like Marco, the man that usually brought them dinner, she thought she should greet him, that was the least she could do after he had to run up and down the stairs several times a day only because of her.

After making sure she didn’t look like a troll she opened the door and walked into the living room. Too late did she realise things were not as she thought, that the man talking with Lucius was not Marco, but a certain man she desperately tried to forget.

Hermione stared at him in shock, unable to speak or move. He was just as shocked as she was, if not more by seeing what kind of state she was in. Poor Lucius had no idea what was happening and looked lost where he stood.

“Hermione?” His voice shook her out of her shock and she quickly backed away. “Hermione!” he called out as she closed and locked the bedroom door. Nervously she fumbled around the room for her wand, which she had forgotten where she she had placed.

Her breath speed up even more as she heard the lock turn and the door opened. Scared of facing him she crossed to room to get as far away from him as possible. When he was inside the bedroom all she could do was turn around and face him, and hope he wouldn’t be too mad.

“Hermione, what are you doing here, I thought you were in China?” She stared at him, too scared to speak. He was of course just the same as last time she saw him, his hair still reached him to the shoulders, his skin still pale, and his nose still as crocked as she remembered. Severus Snape looked exactly the same as he did almost nine months ago.

She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t get a single word out, this was a situation she never thought she would be put in.

That was when he noticed her belly, which the robe was not hiding well at all. “How long?” he asked with a stern voice. Hermione knew he would easily see through any lie of her and decided to answer him truthfully.

“Soon nine months.” He didn't waste any time to figure it out.

“And you thought hiding was the best way to do things? Am I not entitled to know I'm about to become a father?” They had a wonderful time together, but sadly they could not let anyone know about their relationship, and that destroyed all chance of a good future between them.

“What would you have said to me if I did tell you I was pregnant? Would you be happy, accept it and then tell everyone about this? Or would you try and convince me the best thing to do is to take an abortion?” He seemed a little put back, but didn't comment on her question.

“So you ran away with Malfoy?” Hermione could not hate him for acting stupid, but she did not like the jealous side of him; it was one of the things she hated about him.

“I did not run away with him, we accidentally bumped into each other one day I was on my way to my crappy job. He took pity in me and offered me a clean place to live.” It might not be the complete truth, but she did not think it sounded good to say Lucius forced her to move in with him.

“So this is your decision, to live as a refugee with Malfoy? You do know you will never be allowed to return back, and at one point the money will end, and you won't have this luxury anymore?”

“I really don't think my decision is any of your business.” She still hadn't talked with Lucius about the future, and did not want to destroy the small chances of happiness by saying something stupid that Lucius would overhear.

“It is my damn business when my child is involved!” Hermione regretted not finding her wand, especially now that he was turning aggressive. She didn't think he would hurt her badly, but when he was angry he could do things he would later regret.

They were both startled when Lucius spoke. “This might not be my home, but that does not mean you're allowed to threaten anyone Snape.” Hermione got a glimpse of the blond and could see his wand in his hand. “I would appreciate it if said your goodbye.” Hermione could see that he wanted to refuse, but in the end he said goodbye to both of them and left the hotel.

“So he's the father?” Lucius asked when they heard the door close behind Severus. Afraid, and slightly embarrassed, Hermione carefully nodded. She could see that he was confused, and possibly angry, but all he did was sit down on the bed, staring at his own hands.

She had no idea what he was thinking, but did not want him to feel like she had tricked him into a relationship. “If you want I can leave, and you don't have to pay for any apartment.” She would of course not give back the money he has already given her, that would be a foolish move from her side which would force her to go back to England where everybody would see she was pregnant.

“The news might have shock me, but I do not want you to leave.” Things might have been easier when I didn't know Severus was the father, but that does not mean I want you, or it any less. I have no idea when I'll be able to enter the wizard society again, but until then I would love to spend it with you.” Hermione stared at him with tears in her eyes. “I know that if Severus knows this information will not destroy him he will be happy about the child.”

That was a lot more than Hermione would have hoped for when she first discovered she was pregnant. Just knowing now that there was someone who still wanted her and her child, even with the mess with the baby's father, was almost enough for her to die happy.

“After the war I thought nobody would look at me and accept my past.” Lucius pulled Hermione closer to him until Lucius could put his hands around her. “I have learned a lot during our stay together, and would love it if you would continue to live with me even after the child is born. If you wish I can look for a house in the country, away from the headache of the city. When you feel ready you can invite your friends and family over, and tell them that the apprenticeship didn't work out but you found a better job.” The way he spoke about their future together was heart-warming.

“Why are you willing to do all of this for me?” She couldn't help thinking it was too much.

“Because,” he said slowly, “I love you.”

Never in a million years had she expected him to say anything like that. She knew he felt something for her, but that it couldn't be anything deeper than respect. “What?” she asked, not sure she had heard right.

“I love you Hermione Granger, in a way I never thought I would love a Muggle-born.” Hermione loved hearing him say that, especially when she had not expected anything like it. The bad thing was that she could not say the same back because she did not feel that strongly about him.

“I wish I could say it back, but I have not known you long enough to grow such feelings.” She knew her feelings were perfectly fine, and shouldn't make her feel horrible; sadly she couldn't help feeling like she was betraying him.

“Just give it time, and I'm sure you'll feel the same as I do.” Hermione smiled and kissed him, glad that he understood and did not want to push her into doing something she wouldn't be able to do. “But all we have to concentrate about right now is the remaining weeks to the birth:” He placed one hand on her belly while pulling her down on the bed next to him where he passionately kissed her.


End file.
